She paced in front of a colourful cast of people, her eyes meeting those of a woman with shoulder length, green hair, green eyes, and dressed in black. She wore a jacket with a long tail and trails off the sleeves, dark steel gauntlets, tight black shorts and patterned stockings, as well as her tall, black leather boots with heels. She wore a tight shirt beneath the jacket, also black, and a thick, golden pendant attached to a white choker necklace. The tight shirt showed off a bit of her toned midriff as it didn’t quite reach all the way down to her waist.

The stoic, green-haired woman nodded to the blonde woman, the Knight of Seiros, as though in encouragement and silent approval.

“I appreciate you approving this, Professor,” the woman said.

The woman, who had been called ‘Professor’ nodded again. “Carry on, Catherine.”

Catherine, the blonde knight, nodded in return. “Thank you.”

The Professor, named Byleth, fell in line with the rest of her troops. It felt odd to call them that, even still. These people had been her students not so long ago at the old Officer’s Academy. But this war had long ago taken that away...

Catherine finally stopped her pacing and settled in front of the assembled people.

“The Knights are still searching,” she began. “But have found no signs of Lady Rhea anywhere within the Empire. Which can only mean one thing...”

Byleth, stoic as ever, spoke the words simply and plainly. She never was a woman of many words.

“She’s in Enbarr...”

Catherine sighed. “Yes, that’s what we believe And if Lady Rhea is being held in Enbarr... we won’t be rescuing her any time soon. Not until we take the Imperial capital and end this war.”

The Knight of Seiros took in a breath and let her words sink in. “Her capture is a major setback. And, in the state she is in, I am certain that she cannot find any way to escape.”

“What state is she in?” asked a young woman, concern in her voice.

The meek, quiet voice came from the pale eyed, pale-skinned woman with light blue hair. She wore a long dress of blue and gold, her pretty hair done up in braids. She stood with her hands folded in front of her and seemed to be doing her best not to stand out. Her name was Marianne.

“She was wounded here in the battle five years ago. That’s all I’ve been told.”

“Oh,” Marianne said. “But shouldn’t those wounds have healed by now?”

“It goes deeper than just physical wounds, I’m told. Something happened to her in that battle,” Catherine and Byleth locked eyes again. “It’s something the Professor... won’t say for now. But I trust her word. Lady Rhea is in a weakened state. There isn’t much she can do to escape. So it’s up to us to rescue her.”

“Oh goodness... I hope she’s all right. Goddess protect her...” Marianne said.

“Which is what we are doing here. This mock battle will be more than just a test of our skills in battle. As we speak, Shamir is undergoing a session of her own and will join us shortly. Because this test will teach us how to escape capture. So that we don’t suffer the same fate as Lady Rhea. And so we can be around to rescue her.”

Byleth nodded slowly and her former students all looked to her.

She looked over them, the ones she had assembled anyway, wondering if the scheme she’d been working on beforehand with someone else would work in time.

Eight of them, recruits of her own former Golden Deer house and the other houses all gathered now, united under one banner. They looked to her, still their Professor as everyone called her, slightly confused as to what Catherine meant.

There was, of course, Marianne. She had grown so much in the five years Byleth had been gone. Still a little shaky in confidence at times, Marianne had become much more sure of herself. And, Byleth noted, very pretty in her adult years. That was what she thought, anyway.

Though a former teacher to them, she was roughly the same age as her former students. So Byleth always saw them as equals.

Beside her stood a stalwart friend to Marianne, though vastly different in her personality, Hilda. She had long, luxurious pink hair, tied back in twin ponytails, soft pink eyes and a face that was, even five years later, just cute as a button.

She wore pink earrings to match her hair and eyes and her short dress, mostly black, had pink, ruffled sleeves with cuffs ending just below her bare shoulders. The dress, with its short skirt, also had a rather low cut top and Byleth often had to scold herself to not stare at Hilda’s... generous chest.

Long, darker pink gloves and thigh high, black boots with pink cuffs near the top completed the pink-haired woman’s outfit. She, as usual, groaned at the prospect of doing, well, anything. Though she may have stepped up a bit, the old part of her that loved to slack off had yet to disappear entirely.

Hilda was small in stature and tried to pass herself off as demure in personality, often trying to call herself ‘useless’ or ‘delicate’ but the girl was anything but. Simply put, on the battlefield, Hilda had no equal. Even Catherine, herself earning the title of ‘Thunder Catherine’ admitted she would have a hard time in a fight against the absolute, axe-wielding maniac. Despite these little burrs in her personality, Hilda had a good heart. That was something Byleth always knew and was why she thought so highly of her.

Standing behind them, off to the side, but impossible to miss, the big, burly, friendly face of the gentle giant, Raphael. The blonde haired big man, dressed in his blue and yellow tunic, cream coloured vets, orange trousers and shirt beneath, leather gloves, armoured boots, and a leather pauldron on his left shoulder, still looked about as jolly as ever even in his confusion.

Byleth always smiled thinking of Raphael. He had a big heart, a bigger stomach, and proved himself a force in battle. Even though he was a bit perplexed at this proposed training session, she knew he would be ready and willing to help out however he could.

Beside Raphael stood one of his oldest friends, Ignatz. A bit meek, and shy, much like Marianne, the shorter, bookish young man met the eyes of his teacher as she looked his way. Short, blonde hair, brown eyes, round glasses, and dressed in long, flowing green robes, the aspiring artist and budding archer remained stalwart in his duty to help the Professor. Byleth always appreciated his presence and she thought of him as a sweet boy who deserved better than to be caught up in a bloody war like this. But, in the end, she was happy to have him there among her former students.

Standing in a circle, the other four were together a few feet away from the first group. Standing resolute, her intense, angry orange eyes searching Byleth’s, Leonie, the self-proclaimed apprentice to Byleth’s deceased father Jeralt, stood at the head of the group. She had flaming orange hair, shoulder length, with a ponytail hanging down the left side of her face. Dressed in mostly orange attire with tinges of blue, including her tight shorts, an orange cloak tied on around her waist, tall leather boots and strange half gloves, also blue, designed specifically for archery, Leonie was every part a ferocious warrior.

For obvious reasons, Leonie often saw herself as something of a rival to Byleth. Though, after Jeralt’s untimely death, she revised that to become her guardian for Jeralt’s sake. Though their relationship could be strained and even antagonistic at times, Byleth saw Leonie as an irreplaceable and invaluable ally, fighting just about as well as Jeralt himself on the battlefield.

The others around her included Bernadetta, a young woman with bobbed hair, purple in colour, pale eyes, and a short, purple tunic with gold trim, matching boots, and golden gloves. She was a skilled archer herself, though rather a shy girl since her academy days. She had calmed down a bit in recent years but Bernadetta, or Bernie as most people called her, was still filled with anxiety at just about everything and still not exactly open to being around people, still choosing to isolate herself in her room. But she had confided a lot in Byleth and trusted her implicitly, choosing to follow wherever Byleth went. In truth, Byleth adored Bernie and practically doted on her at just about every turn, especially after the infamous recluse came out of her room to lay flowers on Jeralt’s grave. This proved Bernie to be a genuine, sweet girl that Byleth was glad to have along.

Nearby, standing together, were Dorothea and Petra. The former Black Eagles, having long ago been recruited to the Golden Deer house and joined Byleth and the Knights of Seiros in the war effort, the two women had grown to be, frankly in Byleth’s mind, about as beautiful as people could get.

Dorothea, the former songstress of Mittlefrank, stood tall with long, gorgeous chestnut locks, beautiful green eyes, and a hidden mean temper behind it all. Though Byleth saw that she was just about the sweetest person in the world. But she was protective of the people she cared about. Very much so.

Dorothea wore a long, red and black gown, with a low cut chest, and black boots. When Byleth was around her, the two often had a hard time keeping their eyes off each other and this time was no exception. Knowing this rather wild side to Dorothea, Byleth was not shocked by the rather intrigued expression in Dorothea’s eyes at the prospect of this odd training session.

Petra, beside her, betrayed no expression, though there was confusion in her brown eyes. Long, tied back locks of a dark purple hair, tied into many braids, dressed in her rather revealing tribal attire from Brigid, her homeland, Petra looked every part the warrior princess Byleth knew her to be. She always liked the girl, too. Cheerful, despite the circumstances of how she ended up in Fodlan to begin with, loyal and protective of her friends, Petra was another valuable ally in this war effort. A skilled hunter, master of stealth, tremendously skilled in battle, Byleth loved having her around. And that wasn’t just because of her quirky, charming way of speaking where she hadn’t quite mastered the nuances of the language just yet. But that was certainly part of it.

Looking these troops over, Byleth just nodded and turned toward Catherine.

“Catherine will explain what she means,” Byleth said.

“Yes. I will,” Catherine said. “Right now, Shamir is attempting an escape from within the ruined village. We have soldiers acting as guards around her where she has been restrained and held in a makeshift cell. Her goal is to escape and provide reinforcements for the Professor’s remaining troops.”

“Remaining? What are you talking about?” Leonie asked, taking a step forward. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Some of you will be,” Catherine said. “To start this drill off, the eight of you will be making a mock battle encampment with your Professor. I will then sneak in with some of our regular troops and capture four of you at random and hold you prisoner at the other end of the field. I will be commanding the troops from there to battle the Professor and those who remain with her. She will then have to battle her way to me and attempt to negotiate your release. We may have to practice the real thing if they ever bring Lady Rhea out in the open.”

“Good idea!” Raphael said, his voice booming. “But what are the others supposed to do?”

“Attempt to escape, naturally,” Catherine said. “The ones I capture will have to work on freeing themselves after they are restrained. Capture may not happen but that kind of training could be valuable if it ever does.”

Byleth turned to her troops again. The confusion was gone but there still seemed to be doubts about this strange mock battle.

“I don’t know, Professor...” Ignatz said. “Is this really any better than a regular mock battle?”

“We have to be prepared for anything,” Byleth said.

“Agreed. With Lady Rhea captured by the Empire, there’s no telling who else they may try to capture to get one over on us,” Catherine said. “If we can prevent that, that’ll just give us one more advantage.”

“Advantages are great and all but this sounds like a lot of work,” Hilda said. “At least, for those of us doing the fighting. Any chance I could sit this one out?”

“No, Hilda,” Byleth said.

“Aww, come on, Professor! I mean, if I’m on the sidelines, there’s no chance I could get captured! Good idea. You should just put me off to the side then. Okay?”

Byleth just shook her head.

“If it’s any consolation, the ones who get captured get to do a little less running. And no fighting. So, if you’re chosen at random, it might work out in your favour,” Catherine said.

Byleth glared at Catherine, who grinned sheepishly. “Of course, that’s just a thought...”

Hilda sighed. “Well at least there’s a chance of that happening... okay. Let’s get this over with, then.”

Catherine stepped back. “All right. The mock encampment is just over there. Get set up in your places, everyone! The Professor knows what to do. As do I. Let’s go!”

...

None of her struggles seemed to have any effect. And Shamir knew time was of the essence so she was getting more than a little frustrated that she couldn’t break free of the ropes binding her.

The Knight of Seiros, her short, dark blue hair, long bangs hanging down the left side of her face, determined and intense purple eyes, dressed in her turquoise and black attire, took a moment to pause.

The ropes held her wrists, crossed in an ‘x’ pattern, behind her back. A tight coil wrapped around her arms and torso from elbows to shoulders while yet more rope tied her ankles, calves, and thighs together. Making matters worse, a dark cloth had been tied on over her mouth, sealing in another cloth to silence any protests.

As the exercise dictated, Shamir’s weapons had been confiscated. She had no knives to cut herself free of the ropes. Worse still, she was closely guarded. In order to escape, she’d have to slip out of this hastily built cage unnoticed, find her weapons, and get down to the field where the Professor waited.

The Knights had constructed a wooden cage out of many of the ruined buildings around the village of Garreg Mach. Using wooden beams here and there, they built this makeshift cell to hold Shamir as their mock prisoner while she battled her restraints.

The head of her guard was a loud, boisterous and friendly man in heavy armour, with short brown hair, blue eyes, and a handlebar moustache divided evenly across his face. Catherine had left Alois in charge of delegating the guard detail that would keep watch on Shamir’s cage. The man took pride in everything he did in the name of the Knights of Seiros and this was no exception.

He seemed to love barking orders at the other knights, smiling and chortling the whole time. Shamir, though not always fond of such outlandish behaviour, did rather like him. If only because his loud voice, his shouting, was serving as an inadvertent distractions while she tried to free herself.

“Make sure you keep on eye on the monastery path!” he bellowed, a wide smile on his face. A woman, usually a Pegasus Knight who, for the time being, was without her flying horse, darted off toward the stone pathway leading up to the monastery.

“And you!” Alois pointed to a young man in the midst of a wandering patrol. “Check between the buildings! There could be enemy spies lying in wait! Go on!”

He simply nodded and started shuffling between the buildings, keeping a lookout for anyone who might be hiding there.

Alois looked over the small group of knight, beaming. He hadn’t left a single one of them idle. Everyone was busy scurrying about, checking every crevice for potential rescuers of their mock captive. He chuckled to himself.

“Ah, if only the Captain were here to see this. Such efficient work! Shamir is good but there is no way she’s getting past us! I’m sure Catherine will be impressed!”

Hearing his jovial boasting, Shamir squirmed away in her cage, writhing, twisting, shuffling... but the ropes didn’t budge. Shouldn’t have let her do the tying... Shamir thought to herself. I’d be out of here by now.

Her partner in the Knights of Seiros, Catherine, had been the one to tie her up like this, at her own insistence. Shamir suspected that Catherine enjoyed it more than she let on, and didn’t quite buy her reasoning of ‘it has to be realistic.’

“Mmmpph. Hmmph, mmrpphh mmmpp!” Shamir grunted into her gag, still fighting the ropes but making no progress toward freedom.

How did she expect me to escape this? Shamir thought.

Her eyes returned to Alois, standing with his hands on his hips, letting out a jolly laugh as he watched his fellow knights... and hadn’t yet realized that no one was watching the cage.

At least nobody’s watching me Shamir thought. An idea struck her then. The cage, though sturdy, wasn’t exactly built to last. It was temporary, that much was certain. And built on short notice. So it was likely weak. And Shamir had long ago spotted the chest her weapons had been stored within. Perhaps she didn’t need to escape the ropes first...

Shamir tested the wood first, placing her boots against one board and felt it bend when she put pressure on it. Something above her cracked slightly and the board nearly fell loose right then. Talk about a rush job...

With a bit more pressure, the board came loose, clattering to the ground outside the cage. But Shamir remained still, almost certain someone would have heard the sound... but no one came running. Alois continued shouting orders, chuckling away, and watching the other knights proudly. And there was now a big enough gap in the cage for Shamir to slip through.

She shuffled backward, first, until she was leaning against the opposite wall of her improvised cell. Nimble and agile as she was, it didn’t take long until Shamir was on her feet. She hopped forward, the thick heels of her leather boots thudding against the floor of the cage.

Hard to be stealthy like this... But, even still, no one noticed her. So Shamir continued forward, hopping toward the gap in her cage until she was outside in the ruined streets of the village. Her eyes instinctively moved to the chest, hidden inside a ruined house, and she hopped toward it.

“Hmmpph! Mmmmrrpph! Mmmppphh!” Grunting into her gag with each hope, having to take careful breaths through her nose, Shamir reached the chest and flipped it open. Didn’t lock it. Have to let Alois know his mistake...

In no time, she was picking up her weapons, unsheathing a knife, and finally cutting herself free of her bonds. And, all that time, not a single soul had seen her.

In the meantime, Alois kept his eyes on the busy knights, searching and wandering every which way, at his command. He let out a satisfied sigh and finally let his eyes wander to the cage. “Ah, Shamir. You’ll learn some things about your fellow Knights today... wait...”

He took a few steps forward and squinted as he tried to see where Shamir was inside the cage... but he couldn’t see her anywhere.

“Hang on.... she must be in there, right? Am I... mistaken?”

Alois walked closer still and, finally, confirmed that he was right. “Oh dear...” he sighed. “Ah, Captain. You did always say I was a bit absent-minded. Looks like you were right. How did she do that?”

He felt something pressed against his lower back and heard a familiar voice.

“Next time keep your eyes on what’s important.”

“Shamir! You crafty devil!” Alois laughed. “I should have known you would escape!”

“Dead men don’t talk, Alois,” Shamir said. “And, if this were real, you’d be dead.”

“Ah, yes. Silly me. I suppose that is what would happen, isn’t it? Very well. You win, Shamir! Well done!”

“Quiet. You’re dead,” Shamir said.

She helped him lay down, gently, on the ground in front of him.

“Of course, of course! Nobody is more dead than a dead man like me! You got me good!”

Shamir just rolled her eyes and made herself scarce, quickly escaping the village and heading down to the field below. She had one other stop to make before joining Byleth on the battlefield. Catherine didn’t know, of course, but that just made things more interesting. She just hoped they could get there in time before Catherine called it all off.

...

Byleth wandered the fake encampment, talking to her former students gathered there. She stopped first in front of Dorothea.

“Professor, I want to see Rhea safe as much as the next person but surely we can do better by just practicing actual battle strategies. Right?”

“These are battle strategies,” Byleth said, plainly.

Dorothea sighed. “I suppose you’re right. And, you know, it’s a shame Catherine isn’t making you a captive. I’d love to be the one to swoop in and rescue you...”

Byleth said nothing but she shared a smile with the beautiful brunette before turning away from her. Petra wasn’t too far away and Byleth stopped in front of her next.

“Is Catherine going to be doing an attack that is surprising?” she asked. Byleth couldn’t help but smile at the way Petra spoke, yet again. “That is the only way to be capturing someone is by sneaking. I have been doing that many times in Brigid. So she will be having difficulty sneaking up on me.”

Next Byleth moved on to Ignatz, who jumped a bit at her approach. “Ahh! Oh, it’s you, Professor. Sorry. I’m just a bit worried. I know it’s only Catherine and she won’t hurt anyone but, well...” Ignatz lowered his voice to a whisper. “She still scares me! And it’s kind of nerve-wracking, you know? Not knowing which of us are going to go missing. Even if we’ll be all right in the end...”

Beside him stood Marianne and Hilda in a tight cluster. “Oh, Professor,” Marianne said. “I’m not sure I like this idea. But, if it’ll help us save Lady Rhea, I guess it’s fine.”

“Of course it’s fine, especially if you’re the one who gets captured!” Hilda said. “Oh please let her catch me, Professor! I could use the rest, you know. Besides, I’d only slow you down in battle anyway. So don’t worry about me.”

Byleth shook her head again. “Ugh, stop having so much faith in me!”

“You... want to be captured, Hilda?” Marianne asked.

“Duh! Who wouldn’t? It’s a break from all that work!”

“Oh, I see. I guess, when you put it that way...”

Marianne trailed off and Byleth left them to continue their conversation. A little ways away, Leonie stood on her own, keeping a vigilant eye out for, well, anything.

“Don’t distract me, Professor,” Leonie said, her sharp eyes shifting all around. “I’m sorry but I could be one of the people Catherine tries to capture. I’m going to keep my eye out for her.”

“You think you can take ‘Thunder Catherine?’” Byleth asked with a smile.

“Well... not really,” Leonie said. “But keeping a sharp eye is important training too. That’s something else Captain Jeralt taught me! I’m sure he taught you the same!”

Leaving Leonie to her lookout duty, Byleth had to look up at the man nearby, and they both smiled wide when their eyes met.

“Hey, Professor!” Raphael said. “Any chance we could get an extra lunch out here?”

“I don’t think so...” Byleth said.

“But my stomach needs food! How long is this training supposed to take? I hope we don’t miss lunch time. I hear they’re having a great roast in the Dining Hall today! You should come have some when we’re done here!”

Moving on from Raphael, Byleth moved on to the crouching pile of anxiety at the very back of their camp, startling her when she stopped in front of her.

“Ahhhh! Stay away! I-I’m too young die! Leave me alone! Nooooo!”

Byleth shook her head and crouched low to be level with Bernie. “It’s okay, it’s just me...”

Bernadetta finally opened her eyes, removing her head from her arms and looking Byleth in the eye.

“Oh, Professor! Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were Catherine! What kind of cruel training is this!? She’s waaaayy too scary to be the one capturing people! This is torture, just waiting around to be caught like this! Just let me hide away in my room next time!”

Byleth thought it better to let Bernie be for now and turned back to the rest of her students. She did a quick headcount to see if everyone was there. Bernie, Raphael, Leonie, Dorothea, Hilda, Marianne, Ignatz... hang on...

Byleth’s eyes darted to the spot Petra had been standing and noticed that the sharp-eyed warrior princess of Brigid was now missing.

She asked around but no one seemed to know where she had gone. Byleth searched the rest of the encampment but found now sign of Petra anywhere.

“She must be even better than I thought to get the drop on someone like Petra,” Leonie remarked when Byleth stated her concerns.

“Oh no! We’re doomed! They got Petra!? We don’t stand a chance! Aaaahhhh!” Bernie scrambled back to her hiding place, ducking down and covering her head with her arms again.

They all wandered from place to place a bit, Byleth checking in, still looking around for Petra in case she was mistaken but then, when she did the headcount again...

Now Dorothea is missing. Catherine must be learning from Shamir, I haven’t seen or heard a thing!

Byleth asked around again and, as with the last time, no one saw anything. “Lucky girls,” Hilda said. “They already get a break! Come on, Catherine, capture me next!”

With a bit more wandering, Byleth stopped from person to person, trying her best to keep a sharp eye out and maybe see how Catherine was pulling this off but, when the took in another headcount...

How!? Now Leonie is gone! And she was even keeping an eye out too!

With one final gathering before the last person was captured, Byleth looked over the remaining troops. Already, it appeared Catherine was trying to make things difficult on Byleth. First, a skilled sword and bow unit in Petra was taken away from her. Then a strong magic user, skilled in both Reason and Faith plus pretty handy with a sword to boot. And then a powerful mounted unit, taking away both the mobility and strength of her long reach lance attacks.

The only up close melee units Byleth had left were Raphael and Hilda. So, with Catherine’s current pattern, it was down to one of those two. She kept a close eye on them both but she didn’t want the pattern to be some sort of distraction and had to take into account that Catherine might target any one of the others, including Marianne the only one left able to wield healing magic.

After a bit more wandering between her troops, Byleth took in another headcount. She noticed a distinct lack of pink hair among them.

I guess Hilda got her wish... Byleth thought to herself.

She gathered up the remaining four and looked them over. Two archers, a brawler and a healer... not making it easy on me at all.

“Time to go,” Byleth said.

Raphael slammed on fist into an open hand, picking up his training gauntlets. “Yeah! Let’s get these muscles into some action!”

Ignatz and Bernadetta picked up their bows and quivers full of arrows, gathering in close.

“The knights are going to be tough,” Ignatz said. “But I’m with you, Professor.”

“I’m just relieved I’m still here!” Bernie said. “But, now we have to fight!? Oh, Professor!”

Byleth nodded. “We have to fight our way to them.”

“But why!?” Bernie asked. “It’s just a drill!”

“We have to practice rescuing them,” Marianne said. “If we are going to save Lady Rhea, we have to know what to do when the time comes.”

“Ooohhh.... I don’t like this! Fighting the knights... even if it’s just for practice!”

“Hey, we’ll be fine, Bernadetta,” Raphael said. “I’ll be here to protect everyone! I’ll keep you safe!”

“Okay... I’ll fight if I have to.”

Byleth drew a practice sword from her side and held it forward. “Let’s go!”

...

The fight was far from an easy one. Byleth kept her troops back, for the most part. She and Raphael made up the entire frontline against at least twelve Knights of Seiros, most of whom were melee units. The pair of them suffered their share of damage but Byleth kept Marianne back far enough that she was able to keep them both in the fight.

One Pegasus Knight broke through, however, moving much faster than the others and targeted Marianne. She hit her hard but Marianne stayed in it. And, luckily, Byleth kept her two archers on the back line to protect her healer. This led to a marked advantage, knowing these powerful flying units were vulnerable to archers. Ignatz and Bernadetta made quick work of the lone Pegasus Knight while Marianne kept herself in the fight and the two on the frontline pushed forward.

Raphael had a bit of trouble but Byleth backed him up and, as was the usual way, she was practically untouchable. She practically took on the knights herself at one point.

Finally, with the Knights of Seiros retreating, the five of them reached Catherine and another group of knights surrounding their four captives.

Four tall, wooden stakes had been planted into the ground and every captive was seated on the ground, tied to it.

They were tied identically, struggling away, with ropes binding their wrists together, behind their backs, and around the pole. Ropes from their chests, pinning their arms to their sides and tying them to the stakes, forcing them into an upright position. Each captive’s legs had been tied at the ankles and knees, also tied to smaller stakes in the ground so they couldn’t even bend their legs. Finalizing that, white cloths had been tied over every one of their mouths, holding in another cloth to keep them quiet.

When they reached Catherine, the mighty wielder of Thunderbrand stepped forward, barring their way to the four captives.

“Mmmppphh! Hllmmpphh!” Dorothea said, her eyes smiling, winking at Byleth. The Professor tried to ignore it but it was clear it had worked as she felt her cheeks turn hot. Glad she’s enjoying herself and putting on a performance... Byleth thought to herself.

“Mmmrrpphh! Rrrrrggghhh! Mmmmnnngghhh!” Leonie struggled furiously, growling into her gag and glaring around at her captors. She was more than a little miffed that they had eluded her sharp eyes.

“Hmmm mmmpphhh...” Hilda sighed, barely making an effort of struggling. She couldn’t say she found the ropes and gag all that comfortable but at least she didn’t have to do any fighting. And that was a plus in her book.

“Mmmnnngghh! Nnnrrpphhhh mmmnnpp nnnpphh!” Petra had been spouting angered words in the language of Brigid into her gag, furious at herself for not noticing Catherine and getting caught. She had broken out into a sweat as she hadn’t stopped struggling since her capture.

“We’ve beaten your forces. Let them go,” Byleth said.

Catherine smiled, trying to play up her role as something of a villain. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You see how many we have left. Knights!”

The Knights closed in a circle around the five combatants, brandishing their weapons, not giving them an inch of breathing space.

“Stand down. And surrender yourself, Professor. If you do, we’ll let those with you go.”

“What of the captives?” Byleth asked.

“You’ll join them. Because it seems you don’t have any reinforcements on the way. And that means you’re outnumbered. Would you rather we take their lives?”

Catherine didn’t mean it, of course, but in this scenario, that is probably what would happen. Byleth weighed her options.

“Don’t do it, Professor!” Ignatz said, doing his best acting. “You’ll just be letting them win!”

Byleth shook her head, letting her practice sword drop from her grasp. “I have no other choice.”

She stood up and raised her hands. “Let them go and I’ll come with you,” she said, nodding toward the four people with her.

“Very well. Knights! Restrain the prisoner!”

Very quickly, Byleth was overwhelmed and ropes were tied all around her upper body. A thick coil pinned her arms to her sides, wrapping over her arms and torso, another keeping her wrists bound behind her back. A white cloth gag was stuffed in her mouth and another tied on over it, tightly knotted behind her head. She was guided to the other captives, forced to her knees, and her ankles were tied together as well. Then she was made to sit where her legs were tied together at the knees to complete her captivity.

The circle of knights disbanded, rejoining Catherine. The wielder of Thunderbrand looked disappointed.

“I really thought she’d be here... but no matter!” she said. “For now, I have to declare-”

“Woah, hang on! Not so fast there, Catherine!”

A voice called out from the hill behind them. It was a familiar voice to them all and Byleth smiled under her gag as she turned toward him.

Standing casual as ever, bow resting on his shoulder, twirling an arrow in his hand, the tanned, dark-haired leader of the Leicester Alliance stood flanked by his entire battalion. And yet another familiar face.

“Shamir...” Catherine said. “I knew it.”

The man dressed in yellow, Claude, stepped forward, descending the hill with his battalion and Shamir just behind him. Byleth could now see the thin beard that ran along his jaw, framing his handsome face.

“Looks like we got here right in the nick of time. Right, Teach?”

His eyes drifted to the bound and gagged Byleth, who simply nodded toward him.

“What is this? I thought you were supposed to be meeting with the Alliance Lords,” Catherine said.

“I was. And I did. I got back before you even got this training started. Cooked up a nice little scheme with Teach and Shamir, too. We’d come dashing in to her rescue if things went awry. Great plan, Teach. Worked like a charm.”

Byleth nodded again. “Mmnnpph.”

Catherine sighed. “You were in on this too, Shamir?”

Shamir shrugged. “It’s a good plan. I had to.”

“I see. I don’t like being played for a fool but... I guess you got me. Professor...” Catherine turned around to face Byleth. “I have to declare it now. You did it. You won. You rescued the captives. And yourself. We’ll save Lady Rhea in no time with you in charge.”

“That’s not the end of our little scheme,” Claude said. “Shamir had one little condition for going behind your back.”

“What’s that?” Catherine asked, folding her arms.

Shamir said nothing, stepping forward and nodding to the other knights. It seemed they were in on the idea too, because they helped Shamir grab hold of Catherine’s arms and pull them behind her back. Shamir took the liberty of tightly binding Catherine’s wrists behind her back and pulling a heavy coil of rope around her arms and chest, pinning them in place.

“Hey! Shamir! What are you doing!?”

Shamir stuffed a white cloth in Catherine’s mouth, sealing it in by pulling another tightly between her teeth, tying it off behind her head. “Rrrrgghhhh! Mmmmfff!”

Shamir smirked. “Take it easy. You won’t get hurt. I just thought it was your turn to be captured. It’s an amusing thought. Who could capture the mighty Thunder Catherine?”

“Mmmnnnggghhh! Rrrrggghhh!!”

“Settle down. Think of it as another drill.”

Shamir tied a rope snugly around Catherine’s neck and started leading her away with the makeshift leash, back toward the monastery. “Let’s head back to quarters, partner. And don’t worry. I’ll rescue you.”

“Mmmmrrghhh! Shgghhmmgghhrrrrr!”

Catherine battled her restraints while Shamir led her away but, in truth, she was actually feeling all right about the whole thing. Sure, she was tricked, but it was by someone as smart as Shamir. Nothing to be ashamed of, she thought. And, getting tied up by Shamir and led off to their quarters by her partner was, she admitted, not a bad prospect either.

With the rest of the mock captives now quickly getting freed by their friends, Catherine chose instead to relish her time with Shamir. But she had to put up a front and kept fighting, growling into her gag, pulling against the rope leash, and struggling with her bonds. After all, if she was going to be a captive, she was going to make Shamir earn it.

The two smiled at each other as they made their way back up to Garreg Mach. All in all, they decided, it had been a fruitful day of training. And they looked forward to trying this again.